Frank Perez stays Sturgis mayor, Richard Bir new vice mayor

Frank Perez remains Sturgis’ mayor, this time with Richard Bir as his vice mayor, following Wednesday’s city commission organizational meeting.

Commissioners voted 6-3 for Perez and 6-3 for Bir. In both cases, the alternative votes were made by Commissioners Aaron Miller, Rodger Moyer, and Jeff Mullins. Miller nominated Mullins for mayor, and Mullins nominated Miller for vice mayor. Commissioner Marvin Smith nominated Perez for mayor and Bir for vice mayor. Last year, commissioners voted 6-3 for Mayor Perez and 5-4 for Vice Mayor Miller.

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“We had six commissioners who were either newly elected or reelected,” City Clerk Ken Rhodes said.

Taking their oaths Wednesday were Cathi Abbs, Bir, Dan Boring, Miller, Moyer, and Smith. The mayor and vice mayor selection came after the swearing in and Rhodes’ recap of this month’s election.

Sturgis has 7,131 people considered to be active voters, and 3,841 ballots were cast on or before Tuesday, November 5. This means that less than 54% of active voters participated in the last election. The highest turnout, more than 63%, was in the first precinct, compared to more than 42% in the second precinct, nearly 50% in the third precinct, and nearly 56% in the fourth precinct. Rhodes said this year’s turnout was about average with participation rates in 2020 and 2016.

Nearly 61% of Sturgis’ voters did so on Election Day, compared to more than 25% who submitted absentee ballots and 13.75% who voted early in Centreville when it was available from October 26-November 3.

“In precinct two, for the full four-year (commissioner) term, there were no names on the ballot, so there were two declared write-in candidates,” Rhodes said. “Rodger Moyer received 27 of those votes, and Emmanuel Nieves received 10 of those votes.”

Voters writing in a candidate were required to both fill in the circle and write down a name on their ballot. The name does not have to be spelled exactly correctly, Rhodes said. It is up to the St. Joseph County Board of Canvassers to determine if the vote is valid.

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• Abbs, Bir, Miller, Moyer, and Smith were all elected to four-year terms, while Boring was elected to serve the remaining two years of a term. In addition to Mullins and Perez, the Sturgis City Commission includes Linda Harrington.
• Sturgis’ organizational meeting is traditionally held on the Monday after an election. This year’s meeting was delayed for two reasons: overseas ballots can be received and counted if they arrive within six days after Election Day, and because Veterans Day was Monday, November 11, the deadline was moved to Tuesday, November 12. The county canvassing board certified election results earlier on Wednesday.

Frank Stanko is a staff writer for Watershed Voice.